Sunday, 23 September 2007

Last Saturday, I was woken up by the big dogs barking their proverbial heads off. Checking my watch, I was somewhat peed-off to find that it was 5:15AM and, as a bonus, still dark outside.

So, off I trudged downstairs, through the house and, once I'd fumbled with the locks a bit, out the back door. Flicked on the security light and, naturally enough, there's no sign of any living thing, just 2 large hairy dogs looking awfy pleased with themselves. Could've been a stray dog at the back gate or maybe the wee hedgehog that was spotted earlier in the week, taking a short cut through the garden. Who knows? "What the f**k are you barking at?" only led to more tail wagging.

Being wide-awake by now, I let the dogs out and it was then I noticed how utterly still the world was. The pre-dawn sky was a beautiful blue-black and there, over to the East, was Venus. It was, quite simply, the most breathtakingly beautiful thing I'd see in a long time. I stood there for ages, just staring at it, completely transfixed. At one point I nipped in to get the camera but, without a tripod, I'd no chance of getting a decent photie. I tried tho'.

Looking East, the wee white splodge near the middle is Venus.

Eventually, I wandered back inside for a coffee. Less than 2 hours later, this happened;

The camera, and my photographic skills, can't do it justice but it was simply stunning. And the colours changed from minute to minute. I lost track of how long I was out there but it was a long while. It's one of the many reasons I love living where we do; the views can be out of this world.I'd forgotten how much I liked being up at such an early hour. I really need to do it more often.

Tuesday, 18 September 2007

Like anyone confronted with the harshness of robbery on the high seas, you can be pessimistic at times. Two things complete your pirate persona: style and swagger. Maybe a little too much swagger sometimes -- but who really cares? Arr!